Canterbury to Rome to Assisi Days 97-98:
Spoleto to Trevi to Spello:
In Spoleto, stayed at B&B Villa Massaccesi where I was hosted by the very pilgrim friendly Emmanuela and her son Leonardo who woke up at 7 to make a delicious omelet of zucchini, ham, and cheese. Nice to have a conversation about the Via Francesco and Via Francigena in English with a local. He also made a few calls for me to set up reservations for the next 2 nights.
The closer one gets to Assisi the stronger the vibes of the gentle Saint.
The walk today was a pleasant flat 17k often on a bike bath before 1K uphill to Trevi.
My €35 AirBnB room was in an interesting old building and more than adequate.
Headed out and spent the rest of afternoon sitting at a sunny table enjoying a lunch of tagliere and very good house wine.
Beautiful views of the mountains but as soon as the sun descended below the mountain top it got cold. Winter is coming.
Trevi to Spello:
Left at 7:15. Very nice walking early through some forest but then had to trudge through big town of Foligno.
Arrived in Spello about 1. Leonardo an older man is my friendly AirBNB (€45 host). Another nice room with a sitting area and view of the town and surrounding countryside.
Walked into town and sat in Plaza enjoying delicious bean soup and lasagna with excellent house wine at Caffe Carvour.
Eerily quiet as there seem to be no other tourists and very few locals. Just one other couple occupying one of the many tables.
I was considering walking on to Florence but, Umbria, Assisi’s region is going Orange meaning all the restaurants and bars are closing and travel will be more restrictive. So tomorrow I will end my Camino at the tomb of St. Francis.
I am so enjoying your posts and taking notes for my own walk in June. Do you think the lack of other pilgrims was due to Covid , the time of year, or the path itself?
Well it was November so I think lesser numbers. But yes Covid was coming back making it eerily quiet. I would recommend late October November though as the Fall colors were beautiful, the weather was cool and dry, perfect for walking. Neither the Via Francigena or Via Francesco were crowded at all. I think that is normal relative to for example the Camino Frances to Santiago.
I love walking in the fall the most, but since I will be finishing the Via Francigena June 1, it works best for me just to continue on then.